A report examined the effects of large-scale economic/labour market restructuring at regional level in Europe, drawing on Europe-wide data and case studies from Germany, France, Italy, Sweden, and Slovenia.
Source: Irene Mandl and John Hurley, Effects of Restructuring at Regional Level and Approaches to Dealing with the Consequences, European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions
Date: 2014-Sep
A report said that benefits from the growth of technology firms were predominantly concentrated in and around London and the south east of England, and proposed that 'clusters' (geographic concentrations of interconnected companies and institutions in a particular field) were the most effective way of boosting the technology sector across the country. The report said there were challenges facing northern towns and cities, and made recommendations to boost the growth of technology clusters in the north, including: directly elected mayors with devolved powers to lead economic growth in their areas; investment in rail and road infrastructure to connect northern towns and cities; and encouraging universities to allow students to retain the intellectual property of products or services they created while studying (to help retain entrepreneurs in the local area).
Source: Eddie Copeland and Cameron Scott, Silicon Cities: Supporting the development of tech clusters outside London and the South East of England, Policy Exchange
Links: Report | Policy Exchange press release | Times report
Date: 2014-Aug
A think-tank report said that there was a need for 'transformational infrastructure projects' in the north of England, and that northern leaders should work together to develop a long-term Northern Infrastructure Strategy to build on the 'One North' plan for transport connectivity. The report made recommendations for a review and rebalancing of infrastructure spending, and for the devolution of transport responsibilities to combined authorities and other transport bodies.
Source: Ed Cox and Bill Davies, Transformational Infrastructure for the North: Why we need a Great North Plan, Institute for Public Policy Research
Links: Report | One North report
Date: 2014-Aug
A report set out proposals for major multi-modal improvements to the transport infrastructure (rail and highways) in the north of England, including a trans-Pennine rail tunnel.
Source: One North: A proposition for an interconnected north, 1North
Links: Report | HMT press release | CBT press release | BBC report | Guardian report | Telegraph report
Date: 2014-Aug
The government began consultation on proposals to create a new urban development corporation to develop plans for a new garden city at Ebbsfleet, Kent, as announced in the 2014 Budget. The consultation asked for views on matters including the creation of the Ebbsfleet Development Corporation, the area in which it would operate, its planning powers, and the composition of its board. The consultation would close on 6 October 2014.
Source: Ebbsfleet Development Corporation, Department for Communities and Local Government
Links: Consultation document | Map | Impact assessment | DCLG press release | Inside Housing report
Date: 2014-Aug
A special issue of a journal examined place-based approaches to local and regional development, including 19 articles that presented empirical and conceptual work from across the world.
Source: Local Economy, Volume 29 Issue 4-5
Links: Table of contents
Notes: Articles included:
Gill Bentley and Lee Pugalis, 'Shifting paradigms: people-centred models, active regional development, space-blind policies and place-based approaches'
Paul Hildreth and David Bailey, 'Place-based economic development strategy in England: filling the missing space'
Keith Shaw, Fred Robinson, and Jonathan Blackie, 'Borderlands: rescaling economic development in northern England in the context of greater Scottish autonomy'
John Harrison, 'The rise of the non-state "place-based" economic development strategy'
Date: 2014-Aug
A special issue of a journal examined the thinking and practice of place-based approaches to local and regional development.
Source: Local Economy, Volume 29 Number 4-5
Links: Table of contents
Notes: Articles included:
Keith Shaw, Fred Robinson, and Jonathan Blackie, 'Borderlands: rescaling economic development in Northern England in the context of greater Scottish autonomy'
John Harrison, 'The rise of the non-state "place-based" economic development strategy'
Paul Hildreth and David Bailey, 'Place-based economic development strategy in England: filling the missing space'
Date: 2014-Jul
A report examined the early implications of changes to regional planning, or so-called 'soft' sub-regional planning spaces, and considered how to evaluate their performance, drawing on a study in three 'soft spaces': the Partnership for Urban South Hampshire; the Gatwick-Diamond Initiative; and south-central Oxfordshire/Science Vale United Kingdom.
Source: Dave Valler and Nick Phelps, Delivering Growth? Planning and growth management in the south east of England, Royal Town Planning Institute
Links: Report | Summary | RTPI press release
Date: 2014-Jul
A think-tank report examined the evidence from, and experience of, the operation of Regional Development Agencies (RDAs) and the local enterprise partnerships (LEPs), to consider policy lessons to inform the future development of LEPs. It said that RDAs had succeeded as strong economic leaders in their regions, with single pot funding, geographical scale, and independence that enabled the targeting of local priorities and provided economies of scale, but could also reduce local ownership of issues. It said that LEPs were affected by inadequate resourcing and bureaucratic hurdles, and there were wide variations in their nature, effectiveness, and geographical coverage. The report made recommendations, including: for better clarity of purpose and function for LEPs; for clear governance and accountability structures to balance the national and local interests; for a review and rationalisation of the spatial coverage of LEPs; and for a single pot of resources.
Source: John Healey and Les Newby, Making Local Economies Matter: A review of policy lessons from the Regional Development Agencies and local enterprise partnerships, Smith Institute
Links: Report
Date: 2014-May
A think-tank report examined the extent to which local enterprise partnerships had been addressing and planning for the long-term economic and social challenges of their local areas. It assessed the strategies and growth plans that LEPs had drawn up when bidding for funding, and appraised them against a newly-developed 'LEP resilience framework' that assessed areas of policy such as innovation and entrepreneurship, corporate social responsibility, infrastructure investment, accountability, and environmental sustainability. The report said that there was wide variation in the strategic economic plans and growth plans and, with few exceptions, LEPs appeared not to have a systematic approach to building local economic resilience. It made a range of recommendations, including for greater focus on resilience-building, and for a LEP 'resilience network' through which to share good practice.
Source: Ed Cox, Angela Broadbridge, and Luke Raikes, Building Economic Resilience? An analysis of local enterprise partnerships' plans, Institute for Public Policy Research
Links: Report | IPPR press release
Date: 2014-May
A report by a committee of MPs said that the programme of new initiatives for promoting local economic growth (including local enterprise partnerships, the Regional Growth Fund, enterprise zones, the Growing Places Fund, and City Deals) initially lacked clarity and co-ordination between the initiatives, and that progress in creating jobs had so far fallen below initial expectations. The report said that government departments had not spent available funds as quickly as expected, and that some intermediaries had also been too slow to distribute funds to front-line projects. The committee called for improvements in monitoring systems and data, and called for departments to set out clearly how the new Local Growth fund would be monitored and evaluated.
Source: Promoting Economic Growth Locally, Sixtieth Report (Session 2013–14), HC 1110, House of Commons Public Accounts Select Committee, TSO
Links: Report | Committee press release
Date: 2014-May
An article examined the role of agency in regional resilience. It said that considering agency meant that the role of place and context assumed greater significance.
Source: Gillian Bristow and Adrian Healy, 'Regional resilience: an agency perspective', Regional Studies, Volume 48 Number 5
Links: Abstract
Date: 2014-Apr
A report examined the role of local enterprise partnerships (LEPs) in relation to the statutory planning system in England, and considered the potential of alternative strategic planning mechanisms. It outlined a typology of planning functions and said that the role and form of LEPs were still evolving, but they were in the process of developing strategic economic plans as part of their negotiations with central government for Growth Deals. The project from which the report arose was ongoing, with a final report due in May 2014.
Source: Lee Pugalis and Alan Townsend, Planning for Growth: The role of Local Enterprise Partnerships in England – interim report, Research Report no. 3, Royal Town Planning Institute
Links: Report | RTPI press release
Date: 2014-Mar
The government published responses to the consultations on proposals to create combined authorities for the areas of: Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham, and Sheffield (South Yorkshire); West Yorkshire; and Halton, Knowsley, Liverpool, St Helens, Sefton, and Wirral (Greater Merseyside).
Source: Summary of Responses to Consultations on Proposals to Establish the Combined Authorities, Department for Communities and Local Government
Links: Consultation summary | South Yorkshire consultation | West Yorkshire consultation | Greater Merseyside consultation
Date: 2014-Feb
An audit report said that the governance of the Regional Growth Fund had improved, and the speed of the process of making final offers to bidders had been improved, but there was still a significant amount of money to be allocated. £917 million of the £2.6 billion funding allocated in the first four bidding rounds had been paid by the end of December 2013 but, of this amount, £425 million was being held by intermediaries. The report said that controls on the jobs and other benefits that bids offered, relative to their cost, needed to be tightened to improve value for money.
Source: Progress report on the Regional Growth Fund, HC 1097 (Session 2013–14), National Audit Office, TSO
Links: Report | Summary | NAO press release
Date: 2014-Feb
An article examined the impact of the recession on city regions in Britain between 2008-2013, examining the relationship of employment fluctuations to sub-regional outcomes. Examining 'full-time equivalent' jobs, it said that national employment had not recovered its pre-recession level by 2012 and that the provincial city regions as a whole showed a worse outcome from the recession than for the London city region, owing to the differing levels of reliance on various employment sectors.
Source: Alan Townsend and Tony Champion, 'The impact of recession on city regions: the British experience, 2008 2013', Local Economy, Volume 29 Number 1-2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2014-Feb
